CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

THREE DAYS LATER

"So, you and Jack seem to be getting on a lot better. The two of you have been hanging out a bit aswell," Tasha said to Martha.

"I guess," Martha sighed as she took a sip of the herbal tea that Tasha had just made.

"You guess? What does that mean? Don't you like spending time with him?" Tasha asked.

"Of course I like spending time with him; it's nice," Martha admitted.

"Well, what's wrong then?" Tasha was curious.

"He's constantly flirting with me, touching me, and trying to kiss me. He's always teasing me, and I know he's doing it on purpose," Martha started to explain. "He's trying to break me, and it's beginning to work. I don't know how much longer I can resist him. It's driving me nuts," she continued.

"So, what are you saying?" Tasha smiled.

"I miss him," Martha exclaimed. "I miss him so much".

"Well, there's only one thing to do. You love him, and he loves you, so just get back together. It's as simple as that," Tasha told her.

"I don't know Tash," Martha sighed. "I just don't think it's the right time yet. We've still got a lot of stuff to work through. I want us to trust each other completely, and I want to make sure that nothing can tear us apart," she paused. "But at the moment, we've still got Megan in our way. She wants Jack for herself, and she'll try her hardest to make sure we're not happy," Martha finished.

"Yeah, well you also need to stop all this stressing. It's not healthy," Tasha said.

"Yeah, I know," Martha nodded. "But there's just so much crap going on and it's hard not to stress about it".

"Speaking of the baby, how are things? Everything's going okay? You're eating properly?" Tasha questioned.

Martha smiled. "Yeah, I'm doing okay. Actually the best thing about being pregnant is the eating. I've kinda been pigging out a bit lately," she said. "I spend my time eating, thinking about food, and more eating. It's basically all I think about," Martha laughed.

"What do you think about when you're not thinking about food?" Tasha asked her.

Martha didn't even need to think hard. She knew exactly what the answer was. "Sex," she said honestly.

"Are you serious?" Tasha gasped.

"Yes, I'm serious. I swear to god Tash, now that I'm pregnant, I think I want it even more," Martha explained. "It must be my hormones going crazy," she exclaimed.

"No wonder you're finding it hard to keep your hands off Jack. Maybe you should ask him for a special favour," Tasha teased her.

"Don't worry, I'm tempted," Martha laughed.

Infact she was very tempted. She knew that Jack would jump at the chance. She just didn't know if it was a good idea. She didn't want to complicate things even more. And sex always complicated things.

Martha was walking along the beach on her way home when she noticed Megan sitting in the sand further up the beach. This was the first time she had seen her since the incident the other day.

"It's the crazy girl," Megan snarked when she noticed Martha approaching.

"Just shut up alright," Martha snapped.

"Touchy," Megan laughed.

"Will you just cut the crap," Martha snapped again. "If I ever find out that you're out there spreading lies about my baby, and telling people that Jack isn't the father; you won't know what hit you," Martha warned her.

"Am I supposed to be scared," Megan sounded bored.

"I'm just telling you to mind you own business. Besides, I don't know why you keep trying to make me look like the bad guy. Do you think it will make you look better? Make you more appealing to Jack?" Martha wanted to know. "Because it doesn't make you look better. Infact, everytime you try to upset me, it just makes Jack worry about me even more. You need to get it through your thick head, that Jack doesn't want you," she finished.

Megan laughed sarcastically. "And what makes you think that Jack still wants you?" she asked smugly.

Martha smiled. "Maybe it's because he tells me everyday that he wants me back," she said.

"Really? Then why aren't you back together?" Megan smirked.

"Like I said before; you need to mind your own business," Martha glared at her.

"You better be careful Martha, because Jack gave into me once before, and it could easily happen again," Megan glared back.

"Try all you want. But it's going to be a hard task," Martha insisted. "It's a pretty easy task for me though; all I have to do is say the word, and Jack would be back in my bed in a second," she told Megan.

Megan gave Martha one final glare, and started to storm off.

"Oh, there's one more thing," Martha called out to her. "How do you think Jack would feel if he found out how you used Grace to get me to break up with him that first time? He'd be pretty angry. So, next time you stick your nose in my business, or piss me off, I'll tell him. Got it?" she yelled out to her.

Martha felt good. Actually she felt great. If Megan wanted a war; she'd get one. Martha might have been pregnant, but that wasn't about to stop her.

A FEW DAYS LATER

It was late afternoon, and Martha was on her way home from work. She made her way up the steps to the apartment, and was about to open the door when she heard voices and laughter. She recognised two of the voices as her grandad and Ric, and the third voice also seemed very familiar to her. She pushed open the door and gasped.

"Oh my god," she squealed. "Macca".

"Hey bug," he grinned at her from across the room.

Martha dropped her handbag on the floor and shot across the room; throwing herself into her brothers arms. "What are you doing here?" she hugged him tightly.

"We wanted to surprise you with a visit," Macca hugged her back.

Martha pulled away. "Wait. Did you just say 'we'?" she asked him. Macca just smiled.

"Don't I get a hug?" a voice called from behind her. Martha spun around quickly.

"Dad," she cried, and ran towards him.

"Hey baby girl," he said, as he pulled her into an embrace.

"I can't believe you two are here. I've missed you all so much," Martha said, almost crying.

"Well after you called us the other week and told us about the baby, we decided that we really wanted to see you. So, here we are," her dad explained.

"This is great, I'm so glad you came. How long are you staying?" Martha asked.

"A couple of weeks," Macca told her.

"Did you two know about this?" Martha then asked Ric and Alf; who had been standing back, happily watching as Martha was reunited with her adopted family.

Alf laughed. "Your dad called me yesterday and told me. They wanted it to be a surprise," he answered.

"I'm definitely surprised," Martha smiled. "This is going to be great. I can't wait for you to meet everyone," she was getting excited.

"Well first things first; I need a beer," Macca announced.

"We can all head down to Noah's." Ric suggested.

"Excellent," Macca exclaimed. "The youngest MacKenzie is having a baby, so I think that's cause for a celebration".

NOTE: Martha's dads name is Ray. I've noticed in the show that Macca calls Martha either, babe, bub or bug. I've never really understood exactly what he said, but I'm using 'bug' in this fic. I think it sounds the cutest.

NEXT CHAPTER: Jack meets Martha's family for the first time. And can pay back really be a bitch?

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